Kings Cross Local Environment

Renewal of planning permission Britannia St/ Wicklow St.

The Bulletin Board received the following note from a resident at the most southen end of our coverage area, actually in Camden however we felt it worthwile including as it relates to the planning, one of the items "near and dear" to my heart.

Subject Development at Britannia/Wicklow Streets (Camden Application (2006/5860/P), click to see plans

As a resident of Swinton St where I overlook the site and the adjoining railway cutting, I also own some residential flats opposite the proposed development. In principle I am not against redevelopment of the site per say but I am keen that a building of architectural integrity of this magnitude
in a continually evolving neighbourhood preparing, for the Olympic Games and beyond the proposal feels both large in mass and density and perhaps not bold enough.

At this stage I would be interested to know whether other people feel similarly or not as well as ensure the redevelopment proposal originally designed in 2001 remains appropriate for the current feel and vibe of the area?

I have now drafted a letter concerning the development which I have sent to Jonathan Markwell which outlines my concerns.  I would be interested to know what any others in the forum might feel about the proposals. If you were willing to send out a copy to interested parties with the statement below it would be appreciated.

The proposal is re-applying for planning permission which lapsed in recent years for the original application granted in 2005. (2005/3801/P).  I have enclosed a letter which I have written to the planning officer outlining my concerns.- (Download LETTER).  

In essence, I  do not have a problem of the redevelopment of the site per say but feel the current design needs to be evolved more rather than potentially a brick edifice that fills a vacant piece of land in the locality.  I feel the building is to large in terms of mass and scale in relation to the surrounding buildings etc.

While the public planning consultation has formerly ended no decision has yet been made pending further supporting evidence. If you feel inclined to send a letter please email to: [email protected]

Any comments would be much appreciated.

Caspar Williams

Sound Map of the Caledonian Road

The following was submitted by Ian - hopefully our friends at the Guardian will not mind our re-publication...

Just discovered a brilliant sound map of Caledonian Road on the Guardian website:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/interactive/2010/apr/26/caledonian-road-sound-map

It's downloadable so you could listen to it as you walk down the road. 
There are lots of good photos, but I really like the interviews with residents, some of whom have lived here all their lives. Richard Wentworth the sculptor is also featured in it. An object lesson in how to discover what is around us all.

Regards

Ian

Improvements to York Way

The local community has been waiting for the announcement of the proposed improvements to York Way in response to last year's closure of the rear entrance to King's Cross Station at Wharfale Road.

Here is the latest bit of info from local resident Sean Murry who has been on Network Rails' case...

I have been chasing Network Rail fot an update on the improvements to York Way. I eventually got a contact who will be involved in the consultation process.

I think this is a few steps forward from what we knew but well short of getting any time-lines attatched. Projects without times-lines concern me! It would be good to invite responses on how we can encourage those delivering this project to commit to a timescale.

From Camden:   

We are currently working with Islington Council and TfL to develop proposals to improve the southern end of York Way , which includes both the eastern and western sides of York Way . There is developer funding from Network Rail to improve York Way south of Wharfdale Road . These environmental improvements may include: widened and better paved footways; better street lighting; enhanced crossing points at the Wharfdale Road and Pentonville Road junctions, and minor changes to the location of bus stops and stands. Consultation on this is expected to commence in the summer.

If anyone has any more info, please add to the Comments section below.

The Jim Geddes Collection is now available for friends and fans

Jim Geddes, local King's Cross resident who died in 2009, left an extraordinary body of sculpture, ceramics, paintings, drawings and textiles in the house he lived in for some 30 years - 24 Caledonian Road.  The work was all collected by local resident Bob Stuckey and now will be sold to Jim's fans and friends via auction on ebay every 7 days with bidding starting at £7 per piece and ending around 7pm on Sunday. 

Both works are on display in the window at 24 Caledonian Road beside Peter and Tony's Barbershop. This weeks pieces are a sculpture "Yoga 1" and a pastel drawing "Woman with dog and cat". Their auction will end on Sunday 2 May.  In the coming weeks more items will be shown on the Bulletin Board.

     
Find more info at www.atelier-geddes.org.

If you're interested in bidding on one of these items, just use the following links:

Yoga 1                               reference    180498897238
Woman with dog and cat    reference    180498942979

Postage (obligatory on ebay) will be refunded on works collected from King's Cross.

The Mechanical Aquarium & More...

The Mechanical Aquarium, a site-specific moving artwork in the Fish & Coal buildings by local artist Richard Sharples, is now fully booked. Apologies to those of you who missed the boat - we were inundated with bookings. However, we are still looking for a number of stewards to act as guides around the exhibition. If you are happy to contribute a day this week you will have a unique behind-the-scenes opportunity to see the show and meet the Reveal team.

The exhibition takes place Wed 28th April - Sunday 2nd May. Get in touch with Sian James if you're interested in being involved [email protected]

There are lots of other events and activities going on throughout this week: Up the Cally Road with Alan Dein, Jazz at the award-winning Lumen Church in South King's Cross, Smother - an Artangel performance with local young parents on King's Cross Road, while London Sinfonietta 'Experiment' at Kings Place... Find out more here: www.revealkingscross.org.uk  

Why are streets around Judd Street named after Kentish places?

We get a fair few local history enquiries through the site, most of which i can help with pointers to online resources, but this question has me stumped - any clues folks? Put something in the comments if you know or email me.

I was just wondering if anyone could shed light on the reason why the streets around and including Judd Street seem to have links with Kent.

Judd is a school in Tonbridge, there is a Tonbridge Street and a Bidborough Street.

Bidborough is not far from Tonbridge and a Leigh Street which is even closer to Tonbridge.

Leigh the place near Tonbridge is pronounced Lye not Lee as people in Kings Cross say it.

There are other street with links to both Kent and Sussex in the area and I cannot work out why. As far as I know Kent and Sussex were and are both served by Charing Cross, Waterloo and London Bridge so I'm assuming its not a rail link thing.

I'm hoping to be educated on this and also hoping its not so obvious that I'm going to look silly! However that wouldn't be the first time!!!

Many thanks in anticipation,

Malcolm.

Chapel Market goes all farmer!

This Sunday, Islington Farmers' Market will host it's first ever plant fair on Chapel Market. This will be the first time in a very long while that Chapel Market will have stalls all the way from Penton Street up to Liverpool Road. 

There are some fantastic specialist nurseries attending including:

 

Herbal Haven- Essex

If its herbs you’re after, John Webster of Herbal Haven has an unparalleled range of both popular garden herbs and unusual specialties. Their range includes, amongst many others, cinnamon basil, chamomile, mugwort, bergamot, wintergreen, marjoram, Jacob’s Ladder, wood sage, heartsease, mullein, elecampaine, bay and St. John’s Wort. We could name them all, but it would take us forever. Go and see for yourself! 

 

Beauchamp Nurseries – Surrey

Plants from Ab at Beauchamp Nurseries are plants suited perfectly to London because that is where they are grown – in Norwood to be precise. As a Londoner himself, Ab makes extra-special care to provide plants suitable for smaller gardens and windowsills. This year, with Ab’s help you should be able to turn a small windowsill into a nest of edible and visual delights, by picking up some of his edible plants – look out for, amongst other things, dwarf pumpkins, French beans, courgettes, sweetcorn and various mixes of salads.

 

Edible Ornamentals- Bedfordshire

Shaun and Jo, of Edible Ornamentals, grow over thirty different varieties of chilli peppers, ranging from mild tang to scorching heat. Thankfully, someone from Edible Ornamentals will always be on hand to find you the right chilli plant to produce chillies suited to your personal tolerance. They make a great effort to produce plants which not only produce fantastic-tasting chillies, but also look amazing too – hence the name. They also have a good selection of many other herb plants.   

 

Enjoy the Farmers' Market, and the Plant Fair, on Sunday.

 

Islington South and Finsbury hustings video - violent crime in Kings Cross

It's tricky for people to get to hustings, or indeed any meetings.  So i went along and got some video at the excellent election hustings last night for Islington South and Finsbury organised by St James, Clerkenwell. Antonia Cox (Con), James Humphreys (Green) Bridget Fox (LibDem) and Emily Thornberry (Lab) spoke fluently and frankly.

I managed to ask a question about the tragic murders in Kings Cross recently.  I agree with Cllr Convery that we need a big intervention in the area and felt that it was right to raise the issue with the would-be Westminster politicians.  The footage stretches over several clips - the candidates gave thoughtful answers, but were gracious enough to admit that they didn't have all the answers to a grim set of problems.

The first part is below, the second and third behind the links. The answers get better as they goes on.  Hope the video is useful - will post more from the hustings as I process it and get it into youtube (note the deliberate error on the title screen of the first one, late night editing).

Another late-night liquor license application - 9 Caledonian Road

During the Christmas Season, the Bulletin Board wrote a piece about a new shop that opened at 9 Caledonian Road - Drink, Shop & Do Ltd.  It was a "pop-up shop" (just there for the holidays) and it  specialised in art and crafts but also offered some food and drink in conjunction with it's activities.

I recently met with the owner, a charming young woman named Coralie who advised me that she and her partner were in negotiations with the owner of the premises (the landlord/owner of Soho Books) and that they were planning to return with a full-fledged permanent shop.

All this sounded fine, until two new elements emerged.  The first was that they would be seeking a late-night license to serve liquor and second, and more worrying, they were applying for this license before they signed their lease for the premises.

I found these two items quite worrying since once a premise license is granted, it goes with the shop as compared to being tied to the shops stated activity.  This could mean once the license is granted, the shop suddenly becomes something else with a late-night license to serve alcohol!  I will leave the possibilities to your imagination.

This situation is not idle speculation as those living along the Caledonian Road might have noticed.  In November 2009 USA Pizza and Burrito Bar was granted a Premises License.  The premises is now for sale and the advertising board promoting the sale states A3 Premises with Late-Night License - such is the value toward the sale price! 

Here are the details of Do Shop & Drink application:

Permit the sale of alcohol between:

11:00 and 00:00 on Mondays to Wednesdays
11:00 and 01:00 on Thursdays
11:00 and 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays
11:00 and 23:00 on Sundays

Permit the provision of late night refreshment between:

23:00 and 00:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays
23:00 and 01:00 on Thursdays
23:00 and 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays

As a members of the local community you are able to make a representation about this application.  The representation must be received in writing by the Licensing Team (to the attention of Dominic Ping) before 17 May and should state the name and address of the premises named in the application.  You comments should refer to one or more of the licensing objectives, i.e:

·  the prevention of crime and disorder
·  the protection of children from harm
·  public safety
·  the prevention of public nuisance

I think it's time to make a stand and take a position on just how may late-night establishments we must endure before we can invoke the general concept of "preventing a public nuisance."  After all who can better determine what constitutes a public nuisance...councillors who don't live in the area or local residents!  Over to our readers...

Kings Cross - Candidates for Islington South and Finsbury and Holborn and St Pancras in General Election

This is the official list of the candidates for the General Election 2010 in Islington South and Finsbury.  If you live in the Islington bit of Kings Cross these are the names you will see on the ballot paper.

COX Antonia Mary The Conservative Party Candidate
DEBOO Richard James Animals Count
DODDS John English Democrats –“Putting England First!”
FOX Bridget Caroline Liberal Democrats
HUMPHREYS James William  Green Party
MCDONALD Rose-Marie UK Independence Party
THORNBERRY Emily  The Labour Party Candidate

The original council document with the addresses and nominees of candidates can be found on Islington council’s website.

This is the official list of the candidates for the General Election 2010 in Holborn and St Pancras.  If you live in the Camden bit of Kings Cross these are the names you will see on the ballot paper.

Bennett Natalie Louise Green Party
Carlyle Robert British National Party
Chapman John Independent
Dobson Frank The Labour Party Candidate
Lee George The Conservative Party Candidate
Meek Iain Independent
ShawJo Liberal Democrats
Spencer Max UK Independence Party
Susperregi Mikel English Democrats

The original council document with the addresses and nominees of candidates can be found on Camden council’s website.